


Gems

by Mel_Sanfo



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Dog abuse (mentioned), F/M, First meeting AU., Happy Ending (I swear!)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-15
Updated: 2015-09-15
Packaged: 2018-04-20 21:51:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4803533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mel_Sanfo/pseuds/Mel_Sanfo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>During a morning run Oliver Queen finds more than he bargained for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gems

**Author's Note:**

> Dog abuse is not an easy pill to swallow and it's no joke. I felt compelled to write this because there is a charity that is really close to my heart called 'The Sato Project' that deals with scenarios such as the one in this story back in Puerto Rico, where I'm from and this story is loosely based on their work.  
> I think the more awareness that can be brought to the subject the better so here's this.  
> This is way different from what I usually write but I'm glad I did it.
> 
> I don't own Arrow and I am not affiliated to 'The Sato Project' (though they do great work).

There was something to be said about the anonymity that running brought him. He liked it for several reasons, not just for the physical effects the exercise had. He enjoyed it because it was quiet and freeing. His only worries being about his form, the ground below his sneakers as they pounded the asphalt and the path ahead. It helped him clear his mind, to focus and get ready for a day where peace and quiet would be hard to get, at best and impossible at worst.

He usually ran the deserted streets of the city, without his security detail, during the early early hours of the morning while most people still slept or were getting ready for work and the sun hadn’t fully dispelled the hold of night. There were no paparazzi trying to get his picture. No board members that attempted to sway him this way or that regarding business. No social climbing women trying to get into his good graces, and pants equally, in order to become the new Mrs. Queen. And no fake friends that wanted to ‘hang out’ because of the benefits and favors that he could provide.

Most times he really appreciated this part of the day that he got to himself. It was a moment of solace to him. He was all for ditching the suit, tie and polished shoes for his grey sweats, green hoodie and sneakers for a little while and just go.

It was just him and the sleeping city.

Until it wasn’t...

He had been approaching the entrance of an alley when he heard an undignified yelp, the unmistakable sound of a body falling followed by a loud bang, some rustling, clattering and metallic thuds. It would’ve been easy to just let it go and keep going.

In fact, it would’ve been advisable.

But he’d been curious.

The sound that attracted his attention to the open maw of the alley had been female and not one of pain or fear but of surprise.

Taking a detour into the alley, at a slower pace than his usual speed, he kept a sharp eye out. The early light of day left some parts of the space in darkness but it was just enough to see that there was no one else there except for him, bags of trash from some establishments and several industrial dumpsters. As he was passing one of the big metal containers a banging sound came from within and made him jump away from it. Startled and confused.

He didn’t have time to do much of anything before the lid was pushed up from within, all the way over and back so it banged against the back of the container, barely missing the side of the building that was there.

“Aha! Got ‘em! I got 'em! Go me!” the female voice shouted, a tiny fist striking the air in victory before disappearing once more within the dumpster “Huh, I guess I really do that.”

Shaking himself out of his surprise he approached the metal container cautiously, yet curiously, wanting to peek over the edge of it while trying really hard to not to let his sense of smell over take him and keep him from figuring out just what the hell was going on.

He was only two feet away from the dumpster when an arm shot out, though it barely cleared the opening of the dumpster, holding a trash bag…a wiggling and whining trash bag, which the hand held aloft in the air as if it was the best trophy to ever be held. Then a hand hung onto the lip of the container, the bright pink polish on the short nails making the whole situation even more bizarre! There was a huff and a groan of effort and then finally, finally, a head poked out, the chin barely reaching the lip of the huge container.

It was a woman. With a messy bun of blonde hair sitting atop her head, square glasses sitting askew on the bridge of her nose, doing nothing to hide intelligent blue eyes and a face that held no traces of make up yet was pretty on its own right.

“A little help here?” she muttered, her face contorting into a grimace. “Because I’m like two seconds away from losing my grip and I REALLY don’t want to land again on the bag I’m pretty sure has Chinese food from three days ago!”

 In a second he was there, his hand wrapping around her wrist before he was pretty much hauling her out of the container. She landed on her feet with a huff cradling the trash bag she’d held up to her chest like it was the most precious thing in the whole wide world. As soon as he had released her she was kneeling down on the ground.

“Come on, come on, come on.” She muttered while ripping at the bag with desperation.

Oliver was SO lost. He had no idea what he had just gotten himself into! What he had been thinking? Helping a dumpster diving woman in the middle of an alley for no reason?

The moment the bag ripped she cried out in excitement.

“Here!” she said already shoving something towards him

It was a tiny little ball made out of…fabric? Fur? He couldn’t help it. He had already reached out to take it automatically and the moment that it landed in his big hand it wiggled and let out a pitiful whine.

“What the hell?!”

“It’s a puppy! Pretty sure you’ve seen puppies before. Rub its back! Make sure its breathing ok.”

Looking down at her with startled blue eyes he used his free hand to do as she said, rubbing vigorously on the back of the tiny little fur ball in his left hand while watching as she sat down on the ground and pulled several other fur balls from the bag placing them all on her lap.

Suddenly the sounds coming from the little puppy in his hand turned from soft and gasping to strong and steady whining and he couldn’t help but shift his gaze to the wiggling bundle of warmth he was holding.

“That sick son of a bitch...I’m going to find all of his deepest, darkest, most perverted secrets and then I’m going to post it on every social media site that’s ever existed. Then I’ll make sure that he makes some serious donations to the SPCA and the Starling City humane society!” 

She was working hard on getting several of the puppies to breathe correctly, her hands moving insanely fast from one puppy to the other until all of them were wiggling, yelping and whining on her lap.

“Ok… Ok Ok Ok..” she started muttering after she’d made sure that all 5 puppies on her lap were fine before unzipping her hoodie in a haste and pulling it off of her shoulders, leaving her in bright pink and black T-shirt. “Clinic…gotta get them to the clinic, like right now.”

Her mutters were getting faster and faster as she bundled up the puppies in the hoodie she’d just removed before jumping to her feet, cradling the puppies to her chest with one arm and plucking the one he held with her free hand in order to place it carefully with the others.

She surprised him by going on her tip toes in order to press a quick kiss to his cheek before rushing away, heading out of the alley and into the street.

“Thank you, Mister Queen!” Were the parting words before she ran around the corner and out of sight.

It had been two days since the meeting…

Two days in which his head had been in a daze, whenever he wasn’t busy with work or he had a moment of pause during his day his mind would wonder. He kept thinking back to the unlikely encounter in the alley. About the tiny blonde whirlwind of a woman that he had literally dragged out of an industrial dumpster only for her to turn around and save the lives of 5 puppies who had been dumped, in a trash bag, to die in that same dumpster. Well, 6 puppies in total but he had helped with the one.

“…In other local news, a horrible tale of neglect, abuse and sometimes even murder was uncovered and brought to the attention of the media today in what could quite possibly be one of the most horrible cases of animal cruelty Starling City has ever seen.” The voice of the news caster pulled his attention from the reports he was supposed to be reading and towards the TV set in the sitting area of his study. “A local man, Daniel Parker, was arrested today for gross neglect, animal abuse and other related charges after the police and animal services of the city were tipped off to his illegal activities including a puppy mill business and also ties to several dog fighting rings. The images we’re going to show you may be disturbing to some viewers so discretion is advised…”

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”  Digg quoted from the chair he’d been occupying as he watched the news. “Takes a certain kind of monster to do that sort of shit.”

But Oliver was transfixed, watching the news as it showed not only the deplorable scenes of where Mr. Parker had kept his ‘business’, but also the state in which some of the animals rescued were in. His heart constricted in his chest at the sight. True enough Oliver had never been one for pets, his mother had been allergic to both dogs and cats, or at least she'd claimed to be, so the mansion had remained pet free as long as he could remember. And when he’d moved out and gotten his own place he’d always felt he was too busy with work to actually give an animal the loving home they deserved, along with the attention and time they required.

“Several files made available exclusively to this network, through an anonymous source, showed the harsh reality of cruelty towards man’s best friend. The alley in these pictures apparently featured as a favorite dumping ground for Mr. Parker.” The news casters voice was saying while pictures were shown in sequence to give the viewer the full spectrum of the situation “Mr. Parker was caught on camera shoving a puppy back into the bag before dumping said trash bag in the dumpster where the puppies, a total of 6, would’ve certainly died if these two unknown good Samaritans had not come to the rescue only minutes later, early morning two days ago. The puppies, all of which were sick, survived and are now being vetted and cared for by a local non-profit organization called Gems rescue…”      

Then there were pictures on the TV, instead of the footage from the police bust, grainy and dark pictures of an alley he recognized, the alley that had haunted him for the last two days. And sure enough there was a picture of him, on his running attire; though his identity couldn’t have been discovered by anyone. The picture was taken from somewhere behind him, so all it showed was a tall man in a green hoodie, with the hood pulled up, grey sweats and sneakers, standing on the alley while a blonde woman dug out puppies out of a black trash bag.

“The main veterinarian for Starling’s Gem Rescue, Doctor Lance, shared a few words with us regarding their mission in Starling…” the news caster was saying before the video cut off from him to a recording.

“As always, we appreciate the support we get from the people. We couldn’t do this without them but we still need help.” Sara Lance was on screen, an old time friend he hadn’t seen in a while, walking down a hallway, wearing cheerful scrubs, while talking to a reporter; the barking on the background an evident symphony of rescues. “Things are tough for a lot of people out there but that shouldn’t excuse the mistreatment of animals that we are seeing on the streets. Here at Gems Rescue we do what we can to help the animals out and get them into good homes after they are fully vetted but we need people to be aware. Please, don’t turn a blind eye. Our number of volunteers is limited and can only do so much. If you see an animal in need, being dumped somewhere, being mistreated or a stray in need of help, we are asking the people of Starling to contact us or the humane society, so we can take care of those who can’t speak for themselves.”

The video cut back to the newscaster but Oliver had seen enough. Picking up his cell phone he dialed the number that was showing on the screen as Gems Rescue's contact number immediately. It rang a few times before a voice he never thought he’d hear again answered.

“Gem’s Rescue, this is Felicity. How can I help you?”

“Hello, Felicity.” He said, fighting back the smile that threatened on his lips. He had found her, the selfless blonde hurricane from two days ago who’d left him with a kiss on the cheek and asked nothing of him. “My name is Oliver Queen. I’d like to set up an appointment with the Gems Rescue organization regarding some donations and possibly a fundraiser. Who can I talk to about that?”

Three years later several people found ‘save the date’ cards in their mail boxes. It featured a picture of a beaming Oliver looking down and hugging an equally smiling Felicity, both of them holding multicolored leashes while their six big mixed breed dogs sat at their feet facing the camera, signs that read ‘Save the date’ plus the date of the upcoming wedding displayed proudly before their furry feet.    

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to check the work of 'The Sato Project' on Facebook and they also have a Twitter account @DeadDogBeachPR
> 
> Thanks for reading.


End file.
